Crypto Exchange: What They Are, How They Work, and Which Ones to Avoid

When you buy or trade cryptocurrency, you’re using a crypto exchange, a platform that lets you buy, sell, or swap digital currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Also known as a cryptocurrency exchange, it’s the bridge between your wallet and the market—whether you’re swapping tokens, earning interest, or just trying not to get scammed. But not all exchanges are built the same. Some are giant, trusted platforms like Coinbase. Others? They vanish after a hack, disappear without warning, or never even existed in the first place.

Behind every crypto exchange is a story. Some, like Altsbit, a small exchange that got hacked in 2020 and lost nearly all user funds, show what happens when security is ignored. Others, like MM Finance, a DeFi platform on Cronos with zero users and no audits, prove that low fees don’t matter if no one’s trading and no one’s watching. Then there are fake ones—like the Polyient Games Decentralized Exchange, a phantom platform that doesn’t exist but fools people into thinking it does. These aren’t glitches. They’re red flags you can learn to spot.

Even the big names aren’t safe everywhere. Coinbase, one of the most trusted crypto exchanges in the U.S., blocks users in over 60 countries because of legal rules, sanctions, or banking restrictions. That means if you’re outside the U.S., your access might be limited—no matter how much you know about crypto. And if you’re in places like China or Brazil, local laws make trading crypto risky or even impossible, even if you own it. A crypto exchange isn’t just a website—it’s shaped by geography, regulation, and trust.

What you’ll find below isn’t a list of the "best" exchanges. It’s a collection of real stories—what went wrong, who got burned, and why some platforms survived while others collapsed. You’ll see how a tiny DEX with no liquidity can drain your funds, how a "low-fee" exchange like Libre might be too good to be true, and how North Korean hackers target exchanges to steal billions. These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re lessons written in lost wallets and vanished tokens. If you’re using or thinking about using a crypto exchange, you need to know what to look for—and what to run from.